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Some Tips

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 12:44 am
by jgreth
I just found this forum believe it or not, ... just never looked for it before

I've had the TrackIR 3 Pro + Vector for about a year now, or close... whenever the Vector expansion came out.

Anyhow...

I love the product so much, I thought I'd type up a nice tips page for those that are having issues.

These tips are assuming you at least have the software installed correctly and you have the vector clip on a hat.

One tip about the TrackIR Hat w/ reflective brim... There are 2 options: 1) don't use that particular hat with the vector expansion, or 2) cover up the reflective strip on the brim with something, such as a piece of paper held down by the clip.

The reason I say this is, the reflective brim on the hat will interfere with accurate reading of the clip's reflective surfaces. When you turn your head to the side, at certain angles the reflective brim on the hat will be mistaken for one of the 2 bottom reflective surfaces from the clip, altering the view in a snap motion until you turn back.

The best way to debug ( troubleshoot ) any issues with the hat while in game is simply to open the TrackIR software and bring up the View menu and select Tracking. This shows you what the sensors are seeing. It's absolutely THE best way to find problems with the tracking.

For example, sunlight and the TrackIR don't get along. A spot of sunlight on a wall behind you will be mistaken for a reflective surface. A candle burning in the background, a fireplace behind you, a lamp/bright light, a painting or mirror reflecting any of the above.... etc . In the tracking window, you WILL see what your sensor sees. You can easily find out what's being picked up and what's interfering with accurate readings.

Another note about the tracking window. To get the best center spot for TrackIR in games, I highly suggest putting the center in the top 4/5's of the window, and centered horizontally. Here's what I mean:


This allows for ample head movement in any direction. The only way it limits you is literally moving your head up ( in FS9 looking over the glareshield ) and it actually doesn't prevent it too much. The reason for it is this: When you tilt your head back, watch it in the Tracking view, your reflectors never really get any higher than the top reflector position. Now move your head down, and watch how low those bottom two reflectors get. If you had it in the absolute center, you would lose movement because you would go out of range.

The above is really only valid if you sit closer than 3.5 to 4 feet from the tracking unit. If you sit further away, then you just won't go out of range, so it's not really valid then.

For those of us flying airliners in FS9. I would also like to make one suggestion: move the center position to the upper-right side of the Tracking screen. When you do, this enables you to slide to the right to look under the overhead without any issues of going out of range. An example of the position ( just appears backwards, but this is correct, when you slide right, the tracking window shows left movement ):


This also lets you have enough 'looking left' movement to stay in range.

I highly recommend setting smoothness to 100. It irons out some of the jerky movements.

I also recommend using your center, pause, and precision hotkeys often, they help tremendously.

Anyhow, I just figured I would post some tips of the stuff I've learned after the 1000s of hours of flying I have done with it thus far.

Enjoy your TrackIR guys, it's amazing!

For the NaturalPoint staff, could you by chance sell a TrackIR hat w/o the reflective surface so it doesn't interfere with Vector tracking?

Thanks.

[ Updated as of 11/12/2005 ]

[ November 12, 2005, 03:29 PM: Message edited by: Jeff Greth ]

Re: Some Tips

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:16 am
by rodom
Good Tips!

And yes we are going to sell hats without the reflective material very soon.

Re: Some Tips

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:11 am
by steku
Keep posting, Jeff!

Re: Some Tips

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 11:57 pm
by jgreth
What do you want me to post?

A lot of the range issues are probably not as bad now with the new TrackIR 4 out ( pout... I'll never be able to save enough to get the new one, heh ).

The main thing I guess is the troubleshooting tip. When your TrackIR starts freaking out, check the Tracking window, it shows what you need to know.


Re: Some Tips

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 12:05 am
by Barred
I use the Tracking window and the Gauges window. Matching the tracking with the guages for me solves any problems or calibration speeds.

Nice tips though

Re: Some Tips

Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 6:54 am
by jgreth
Updated the post, added a bit more info, and actually put pics up. Apparently my tip on FS9 setting while in an airliner was backwards I mean, I was right, but the demonstration ASCII art was off... so I replaced with with actual pictures.

I'm only human sometimes

Re: Some Tips

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 7:40 pm
by Andre92
Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the tips.
I�ve been enjoying your videos of Vancouver+ a lot. (actually it convinced me to buy it..)

Do you use the standard sample flight profile or did you adjust it to your own likings?
If so, could you post your fs9 profile here or PM it too me?
The reason why i�m asking is because i was amazed by the smoothness of the movements in your video.

Regards and thanks again,
Andre

Re: Some Tips

Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:20 am
by g7usl
Jeff's superb video's bear out his valuable tips. ;)

Re: Some Tips

Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:25 am
by g7usl
[quote=Jeff Greth]I just found this forum believe it or not, ... just never looked for it before


For the NaturalPoint staff, could you by chance sell a TrackIR hat w/o the reflective surface so it doesn't interfere with Vector tracking?

Thanks.

[ Updated as of 11/12/2005 ]

[ November 12, 2005, 03:29 PM: Message edited by: Jeff Greth ] [/quote]

Jeff, I got a 'golfer's' visor hat which keeps my head cool too ;) Also, my wife put a stitch in the centre of the hat/clip to hold it in postion permanantly. This stops it from jumping off while handling ;)

Re: Some Tips

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 9:03 am
by ElroyPatrick72
Thank u Jeff, this is good tips!